Is protecting the Snake River controversial?

Adding environmental protections to the upper Snake River sounds like a no-brainer. A majestic waterway that draws anglers and boaters and fuels tourism, the Snake is an ideal candidate for Wild and Scenic River status.
It's great to hear that a bill that would help protect the Snake and Wyoming Range may actually get to the Senate floor in November, a last ditch hope for a wide ranging public-lands bill that's received no support from Wyoming's elected officials.
The Omnibus Public Land Management Act — S. 3213 includes the Craig Thomas Snake Headwaters Legacy Act, which would protect 387 miles of rivers and streams in the Snake River drainage under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. Of equal importance, it would protect further energy development in the Wyoming Range south of Jackson Hole and allow existing energy leases to be bought back.
Of course, in the current "Drill baby Drill" atmosphere being endorsed by the Republican party, environmental protection is secondary to making certain areas with the potential for energy development are preserved. In July, all 3 Wyoming legislators signed a letter opposing S. 3213. In addition, Idaho's representatives are concerned about their water rights, despite written guarantees that the bill wouldn't threaten Idaho farmers right to Wyoming's water.
The general problem with any legislation of course, is that it's practically impossible to get protections like this one passed without having it be accompanied by a bunch of other items that may or may not please the masses. The financial rescue package passed on Friday includes a whole host of earmarks guaranteed to piss off people already opposed to the rescue of the same industry that got us into this mess in the first place.
Of course this is how government works and despite McCain and Palin's blustering to the contrary, earmarks aren't going away any time soon. Let's hope that we can find a way to get this one through before Craig Thomas' legacy disappears and the process has to start from scratch.